5 Reasons We Are Living in the Last Days
By Nathan Jones
Nathan Jones: In Matthew 24:36, Jesus said concerning the timing of His return, “But about that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven nor the Son, but the Father alone.” So, how then can we know we are truly living in the last days?
Allen Parr of the YouTube channel The BEAT has five good reasons why we are living in the last days. He’s joined us to share those five reasons.
1. People are going to turn away from Christianity and to a lie.
Allen Parr: One of the main prophecies that the Bible talks about concerning the last days’ prophesies that people are going to turn away from Christianity and adopt a lie. Look at 1 Timothy 4:1 where it talks about how the Spirit expressively says that in the latter times some will depart from the faith. We are seeing a lot of that happening in our culture right now. People are deconstructing our Judeo-Christian society. Obviously, this isn’t some phenomenon that has just been happening as of late, for we’ve long seen a progression towards this end, but the end goal of Humanism supplanting Christianity in our culture has pretty much been reached. And so, I think that is just one of the signs that we are living in the end times.
2. Christians settling for watered-down Christianity.
Allen Parr: Once again, 2 Timothy says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine.” Paul warned that in the end times the people would gather around them teachers who tickle their ears with feel-good platitudes. So many churches today have been getting away from teaching directly from the Bible. They don’t use the Bible that much, and the Bible seems to be coming under greater and greater attack. So few Christians go to Sunday School anymore. Many Christians are not biblically literate which fuels this ongoing movement away from sound theology to just religious-sounding entertainment, and so this becomes one of the signs of the end times.
3. The moral decay of our society.
Allen Parr: This third sign which shows that we are living in the last days affects the entire world; it’s worldwide, it’s not just here in our Western culture. Go back to 2 Timothy 3 which says: “That in the last days these things will come. Men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemous…” On and on Paul goes providing this long laundry list of the sinful characteristics which will define society in the last days.
Just look at our world today and you’ll have to admit that our society is morally decaying. We have this glorification of same-sex marriages and LGBTQ+ pride. The moral decay consuming our society has accelerated more it seems than it’s ever been in world history.
Nathan Jones: Men are calling evil good and good evil. Evil is celebrated while good is looked down upon as a vice. And, if you are not actively participating in promoting the evil then you are canceled by the Woke mob. Evil is flourishing in our day!
Allen Parr: Christians are called haters, bigots, homophobes, and many false accusations like that. And, it’s a global phenomenon. Evil is celebrated — in…your…face! It’s almost forced upon you as the new normal. And so, that’s why this decay provides another example as to why we are living in the last days.
4. Wars, rumors of wars, and a world devoid of peace.
One of the signs that Jesus provided in Matthew 24 concerns wars and rumors of wars. Basically, the Lord foretold a world devoid of peace. Jesus said, “You will hear of wars, and rumors of wars, see that you are not troubled for all of these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.” Once again, we see a lot of this happening, certainly in our day. Of course, today is not the only time there have ever been wars in the history of the world, but it seems to be leveling up a bit more, particularly when you look at things that are happening in Africa and the Middle East related to all of these different tribal wars.
5. An increase in false prophets.
Nathan Jones: An increase in false christs and false prophets was Jesus’ number one sign that would point to his soon return, right?
Allen Parr: Absolutely. He said, “For false christs and false prophets will rise and show great signs and wonders to deceive, if possible, even the elect.” So many people today are calling themselves prophets; it’s like the big thing now. People are claiming to have been given a prophetic word. They say: “God told me this” or “God told me that.”
Even people who aren’t even trying to be prophets among Christians are saying, “God showed me this in a dream” or “God gave me this word for you.” All of these mini false prophets are running around in addition to all of the huge TV personalities that are always claiming, “God said this” or “God said that.” An increase in false prophets stands out as a major sign that we are living in the end times.
Nathan Jones: I visited Watchman Fellowship’s website, a cult-watching ministry. They report that there are some 1,200 different religious organizations in the United States and 500 cults. Catch that — 500 cults! That includes the big ones such as the Mormons and Jehovah’s Witnesses.
Luke 21, Matthew 24, and Mark 13 stand out as excellent passages for what the Bible has to say about the signs of the end times. Jesus provided ten signs in each passage. Allen, you covered five of them. For those who want to read the rest of the list, go to these passages to learn about the other signs of the end times.
Remember what the Lord said in 1 John 2:28, “And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He [Jesus] appears we may have confidence and not be ashamed about Him at His coming.” Jesus is coming soon. So, are you abiding in Him? The signs of the end times are happening all over the place, just as the Bible prophesied. God wants your to know that Jesus is coming back.
So, you have to ask yourself: Am I ready? Allen, how can someone be ready for the Lord’s return?
Allen Parr: We have to prepare ourselves. Jesus told us the Parable of the Talents, emphasizing how important it is that we’re using our gifts and talents to serve the Lord, and not just waiting time. We also have to make sure that we are preparing ourselves by living holy lives.
And, most importantly, we as Christians need to be ready to give an answer for the hope that we have in Jesus. There are a lot of skeptics — a lot of unbelievers — so we have to make sure that as Christians we prepare ourselves to be able to be ready to give an answer or a defense for the hope that we have. We want people to live in Heaven with us. We don’t want them to miss out on eternal life.
Nathan Jones: We hope that you have surrendered to Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior so you can be ready for His soon return.
